When You Gotta Go...

If you stop to think about it, our world is full of those simple little wonders that have us asking; "how do they do that?" There is even a cable show by the same name, that is dedicated to answering that question about everything from making toothpicks to automobiles. Didn't you ever wonder how the astronauts go to the potty? I have actually seen a television show that explained how astronauts do it, in gentle terms. What about fighter jet pilots? How do they go wee-wee during an extended flight mission? This is not your typical story about Government "waste". The Air Force has spent 3.3 million dollars developing a high tech "potty" for pilots. After all, we know how distracting it can be when you have to let go of the yellow flow, and we really do not want our fighter pilots to be distracted. The way pilots used to handle this "situation" was to first try and avoid it altogether. On longer flights, pilots used what is know as "piddle packs" which are nothing more than glorified diapers. The new system, called the Advanced Mission Extender Device, uses special underwear equipped with a hose linked to a pump that drains urine into a collection bag. The men's model uses a pouch; the women's has something that resembles a sanitary napkin. Wow, the Air Force even gave it a cool name. Then again, anything is better than "piddle packs".